I’d like to talk about something called “creepypasta.”
It’s about to get weird.
About a year ago, I wrote a research paper about the genre of creepypastas, and while I don’t have any factual evidence to back up this claim, I do think that I was one of the first people to academically discuss and explore the nature of this internet phenomenon. In general, a “creepypasta” is a story meant to unnerve the reader. Originally, they were short stories first posted on internet forums like 4chan or Reddit and have since morphed into full-length or (sometimes) novel-length stories. They are generally horror-themed and written by amateurs, and you would not be far off the mark to consider them current urban legends.
The conclusion of my research paper (in case you’re interested) was that “folk” literature often highlights a society’s fear of the unknown; I compared American colonizers in the 1500s/1600s and their fear of the forests and native inhabitants of the area as explored through their use of Indian Captivity Narratives to our current society’s fear of the unknown personified by the internet and how that fear is explored by the genre of creepypastas.
Anyway, with that rambling done, I’d like to talk about one creepypasta called, “The Devil Game.”
A few creepypastas are written as “rituals” and as I was reading the “Kali Tantra,” I was reminded of a few stories I had read in the past. Specifically, this one:
For those who'd like to read the story, the text is right here:
While a bit long, I do enjoy this set of instructions on how to speak with the Devil, and with the modern day touches the creepypasta has (leaving your cell-phone out, etc.), I couldn't help but think of how the Kali Tantra ritual would address such modern day accessories.
And this brings up an interesting idea: Are rituals meant to be more for the practitioner than anything/anyone else? Why do rituals have such an importance on separating from the "modern" world? Are rituals such as the Kali Tantra or The Devil Game, in similarity to Jesus's time in the desert, meant to be a time for seclusion and introspection while we are confronted with ourselves? Like Batman in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, must we retreat to our bat cave to "find our strength"? I find it interesting that the Devil in this creepypasta must be seen through a mirror, and you can never take your eyes of it without serious consequences.
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| Batman... Because why not?.... From DCcomics.com |
The idea of doing a ritual to attain some sort of magical reward is a cool connection to our studies about how the early Christian church tried so hard to squash those types of rituals of the "pagans" both philosophically and practically. However, these ideas still persisted, especially in the use of the Catholic devotions to particular saints. Even in this creepypasta, the idea of performing a set of rituals to communicate with the "other" power in order to "get" something is still alive and well.
As well as with the meditation on the nature of ritual, I find the image of the Devil in this creepypasta interesting when compared to the roots of the character we find in Zoroastrianism and in the Hebrew Bible. He seems more cool, calm and collected... The image that I have when I think of the Devil in the modern times. And speaking of modernity, without spoiling the story, I do love how this character is placed in the Internet Age. It will be interesting to see how and why these changes occur over the ages.
It will be awesome to study this story further after this class has ended and the arc of the character of Satan is fully articulated. Perhaps there are more connections that I'm not thinking of or am ignorant of, and it would be cool to see how all of these different tributaries connect to the source river.
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